MP Mubarak Al-Hajraf has forwarded questions to Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and State Minister for Economic Affairs Hind Al-Sabeeh on the recruitment of expatriates. He said the Council of Ministers issued a statement following the weekly session held on 29 August , 2017 that it listened to the explanation of the minister on issues regarding the appointment and bonus of some non-Kuwaiti employees in various government agencies.

The minister affirmed these steps were taken in accordance with the Civil Service Law and the relevant regulations which give priority to Kuwaitis and children of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis. He wants to know the number of expatriates appointed in the ministry and agencies under its supervision from 1 January, 2013 till date. He requested for copies of their curriculum vitae with pictures, diplomas, academic qualifications, work experience, description of the sequence of their stay starting from their entry to the country until the date of their appointment, and names of their employers or sponsors prior to their appointment to public sector jobs.

He also demanded for copies of advertisements published by the ministry requesting Kuwaitis or children of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis – whether retirees or not — to fill positions occupied by expatriates along with the dates of publishing these advertisements. He asked for proof that no Kuwaiti or children of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis applied for the jobs; hence, the need to recruit expatriates. He asked for the number of Kuwaitis with bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree in law and accounting who are working in the ministry or agencies under its supervision, as well as their curriculum vitae.

He requested for copies of advertisements through which the expatriates were appointed in certain specializations in the ministry or agencies under its supervision, minutes of interviews conducted by the concerned committee and curriculum vitae of committee members.

He inquired as well about the future plan of the ministry to assign all jobs to Kuwaitis rather than recruiting expatriates, legal basis for increasing the salary of expatriates to as much as KD 400 in their contracts, and their job description. Furthermore, MP Saadoun Hammad Al-Otaibi submitted questions to Minister of Health Dr. Jamal Al-Harbi about the alleged appointment of Kuwaiti doctors who work in fields that do not match their specialties.

He said the Ministry of Health sent Kuwaiti doctors to study cancer surgery abroad — two in the United Kingdom and one in Germany — for almost 10 years only to work in other fields when they returned to the country.

He wants to know the reasons for appointing these doctors in other fields rather than focus on cancer surgery considering the State spent a huge amount for their studies abroad, reasons for not appointing them in Hussein Makki Juma Cancer Center and amount that the State spent on the studies of each doctor.

Meanwhile, MP Nasser Al-Dosari criticized the Ministry of Education’s decision to reject the request of Bedoun students to enroll in public schools near their homes. He argued the ministerial decision allowing the sons and grandsons of Bedoun military personnel to enroll in public schools proved pointless when the ministry announced that they can enroll only in schools in Ahmadi and Mubarak Al-Kabeer.

He called on Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohammed Al-Faris to intervene because it is unreasonable that Bedoun students are not allowed to enroll in Jahra, Farwaniya, Capital and Hawally schools under the pretext that these schools are already crowded. He added that if this is the case, it means the ministry must address the problem instead of using it as an excuse not to accept Bedoun students.